- Antenna
- Caption:
- USA. VA. Albemarle Co., Charlottesville, 20 May 2005, Funnel trap; det. R.J. Rabaglia 2007
- Source:
- Ken Walker, Museum Victoria
Native to the Oriental region (tropical and subtropical Asia), and is widely introduced elsewhere; known from equatorial Africa, India, Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, New Guinea, South Pacific islands (eg. Fiji), Hawaii, southeastern United States, Costa Rica, Panama.
Recently introduced to Europe. (Pennacchio, F., Roversi, P.F., Francardi, V., and Gatti, E. 2003. Xylosandrus crassiusculus (Motschulsky) a bark beetle new to Europe (Coleoptera Scolytidae). Redia. 86:77-80.)
See HISL - PEET Xyleborini website for full listing.
Sources:
See Featured Creatures website
See Kirkendall's bark beetles website
Body length female 2.1-2.9 mm and male 1.5 mm long, stout bodied, mature colour is dark reddish brown, darker on the elytral declivity; head completely hidden by the pronotum in dorsal view, declivity distinctive with surface dull and covered with dense scattered fine granules and rows of long hairs.
Xylosandrus spp. are distinguished from related genera (Xyleborus, Xyleborinus, Ambrosiodmus) by the stout body, truncate elytral declivity, and non-contiguous procoxae.
Sources:
See Featured Creatures website
See Kirkendall's bark beetles website
Both Xylosandrus germanus and X. crassiusculus have characteristic, toothpick-like, curling frass at the entrance holes.
Xylosandrus crassiusculus is a serious pest of hardwood tree, young trees in nurseries and orchards and hardwood plantations. Will attack branches and stems from 2-30 cm in diameter although smaller branches near the ground are favoured.
Females bore into twigs, branches, or small trunks of susceptible woody plants. They feed on ectosymbiotic fungi which they introduce into their tunnels and cultivate and not the wood and pith of their hosts.
Recorded from a wide variety of hosts; over 46 plant families including coffee, cacao, mango, papaya, Australian pine, rubber, camphor, mahogany, tea, teak, crape myrtle as well as peach, pear, pecan, plum, cherry, persimmon, oak, Chinese elm, sweet potato, and magnolia.
See HISL - PEET Xyleborini website for full listing.
Sources:
See Featured Creatures website
See Kirkendall's bark beetles website
Both Xylosandrus germanus and X. crassiusculus can attack healthy to slightly stressed nursery and landscape trees.
In Fiji, X. crassiusculus has been recorded attacking mahogany plantations. (pers. comm. Judy King, 2008)
